The Greek Crisis: A Greek Tragedy?: Vierteljahrshefte Zur Wirtschaftsforschung. Heft 3, 84. Jahrgang (215)

The seven year long, yet still ongoing, Greek crisis continues because the Greek economy has not yet received the critical adjustments it needs. The current twin prescriptions of austerity measures designed to overcome the sovereign debt crisis mixed with often delayed reforms attempting to address the structural weaknesses of the country have achieved dubious results. Twenty authors - from Greece, the Greek diaspora, and others with a strong interest in Greece - review the current situation and offer up reform ideas in this issue of the Vierteljahrshefte zur Wirtschaftsforschung. Investigating recent Greek developments, each contribution analyzes the crisis from a range of unique perspectives, each also offering up suggestions for pathways out of the crisis. Areas covered include the overregulation and bureaucratic hurdles impeding a more dynamic economy, as well as needed reforms on labor and product markets, or the tax system. Societal aspects of the crisis - in the areas of education and health care - are reviewed. A reform agenda fostering stronger long-term growth is presented, including business friendly institutions and cutting of red tape, a reorganization of public finances, and an expansion of the Greek industrial base by strong investments in a better innovation system.